Suburban janitors rally for new contract

Janitors in suburban Philadelphia offices are holding a rally Saturday at noon to send a message that they need a contract.  

Unionized, part-time suburban office cleaners earn just under $11 an hour. 

Wayne MacManiman of the Service Employees International Union said a contract that expired on Dec. 15 has been extended by a month, but bargaining has been slow.

“We’re trying to send a message to the building owners and the surrounding communities that we have hardworking citizens who clean commercial office buildings out in the suburban areas of Philadelphia who don’t have a contract,” MacManiman said. “We are trying to raise their standards so they can support their families just like the American Dream.”

On Oct. 18, a contract with city janitors was settled, giving them a cumulative 7 percent raise and a $600 bonus in the first year of a four-year deal.

Janitors will rally at the corner of Gulph Road and Route 202 in front of the King of Prussia Mall.